Quy Nhon City
Quy Nhon Quy Nhon, aka Qui Nhon, Quy Nhơn, Qui Nom etc. is an important city in the South Central region of Vietnam. Location Quy Nhơn (Vietnamese: ɲəːŋ ( listen)) is a coastal city in Bình Định Province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 284 km². Quy Nhơn is the capital of Bình Định Province. As of 2009 its population was 280,5351Historically, the commercial activities of the city focused on agriculture and fishing. In recent years, however, there has been a significant shift towards service industries and tourism. There is also a substantial manufacturing sector. History The town of Quy Nhơn was officially founded in the late 18th century, although its origins stretch back much further to the 11th-century Champa culture, the Tây Sơn Dynasty and the 18th century seaport of Thị Nại. During the 1620s the town was host to Portuguese Jesuits who called the place Pulo Cambi. The city is renowned as the birthplace of 18th century Vietnamese emperor Nguyễn Huệ2 and, more recently, had a large American military presence during the Vietnam War. Today the city is recognized as a first class city with a geo-economic priority and an urbanized infrastructure. The government describes it as one of the three commercial and tourism centres of the central southern coastal region (with Đà Nẵng and Nha Trang). Geography Quy Nhơn has a varied topography, being extremely diversified with mountains and forests, hills, fields, salt marshes, plains, lagoons, lakes, rivers, shorelines, peninsulas and islands. Its coastline is 42 km long with sandy beaches, abundant seafood resources and other natural products of economic value. The city has sixteen wards: Trần Hưng Đạo, Lê Lợi, Lê Hồng Phong, Trần Phú, Lý Thường Kiệt, Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Đống Đa, Thị Nại, Hải Cảng, Ngô Mây, Ghềnh Ráng, Quang Trung, Nhơn Bình, Nhơn Phú, Bùi Thị Xuân, and Trần Quang Diệu. It has five villages of Nhơn Lý, Nhơn Hội, Nhơn Châu, Nhơn Hải and Phước Mỹ (which was spun off from Tuy Phước District and merged into Quy Nhon city in 2006) with a total area of 284.28 km² and a population of about 284,000 people. Transportation Quy Nhơn is served by Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air, and Jetstar Pacific through Phu Cat Airport, with flights to Hanoiand Ho Chi Minh City.3 Quy Nhơn Railway Station could be reached by a branch off the main line of the North–South Railway,4 but this line was suspended at May, 2016. Reunification express trains stop only in Diêu Trì Railway Station, which is around 10 km west of Quy Nhơn. Get in By plane Phu Cat Airport (UIH), built on the grounds of an old American airbase in 1966, is located north of the city and serves only domestic destinations. There are daily early morning flights to Ho Chi Minh City and 3 flights a week to Hanoi on Vietnam airlines. Flying in is the easiest and fastest way to get here but you can only do so from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, and the resort islands of Phu Quoc and Con Dao. The airport is located about 35 kilometers outside of town. Vietnam Airlines offers two flights daily from Saigon, and one flight daily from Hanoi except for Wednesday when it has none. Air Mekong offers flights from HCMC and the two resort cities.(Air Mekong appears to have suspended flights to and from Qui Nhon since around March 2013) The airlines provide a shuttle between the airport and their city offices (located in the same building on Nguyễn Tất Thành Street). It cost the equivalent of $2.50 US (VNĐ 50,000) but hurry out of the airport after you’ve gotten your bags and jump on the large coach/buses or small beige mini buses right away as they tend to leave quickly. You pay on board. Taxis are always waiting at the gate of the city office to take travelers to their final destinations. A taxi from the airport to the city will take you directly to your hotel but will set you back around $20 US (VN Đ $400,000). (Update 12/6/2016, a taxi from the airport to Quy Nhon only costs 250,000, with haggling you can get a ride all the way to Bai Xep for 350,000) Check with your hotel to see whether it provides shuttle service and compare its prices with those of the airline shuttle. By bus A number of minibus companies ply the routes from Nha Trang, Da Nang and Pleiku in the Central Highlands. The sleeper buses such as Sinh Cafe DO NOT stop in Quy Nhon. To Da Nang/ Hoi An: Mai Linh has two buses per day. Occasionally minibuses will come and go direct from Hoi An, but most of the time you will need to connect via Xe Om to the main Highway (50,000-65,000 dong). Around 150,000 dong, 6 to 7 hours. Mini buses to Hoi An can be arranged through the hotels around Barbara's they depart at 6.30am and 3.30pm daily and cost 160,000 dong. You can also take buses heading to Da Nang to go to Quang Ngai. Prices from Nha Trang are 100 to 110,000 dong (July 2012). Journey time 4 to 6 hours. This route can be quite dangerous, so make sure you take a bus during daylight. The scenery along the way is spectacular. Travel agents in Nha Trang will quote you a travel time of 23-28 hours for the Nha Trang-Quy Nhon trip, and charge 300,000-400,000 dong (confirmed in writing at 6 travel agencies and 4 bus companies in Nha Trang, March 2012)-- be warned. There is one direct bus to Da Lat per day. Thuan Thao buses depart Quy Nhon at 6am and Da Lat at 7am, taking around eight hours and charging 210,000 dong (July 2012). The buses are reasonably comfortable and not overcrowded, but the air-cons may be weak. Alternatively take a bus to Nha Trang and a Phuong Trang bus from there to Da Lat. Coming from Da Lat, you can also take a Phuong Trang bus to Da Nang, which will pass through Quy Nhon. Buses to Pleiku take around 3 hours and you shod pay around 70,000 dong(March 2014) The Quy Nhon bus station is located in the south of the town, almost 2 km from the Co-Op super market and right next to the Metro bulk super market. There is a city bus stop in front of the station. You can take a bus to the city center (3000 to 5000 dong) but you might have to wait for half an hour. There are a few small outdoor eateries at the station that serve typical Vietnamese food. If you want to walk, turn right at the main entrance of the station, walk along Tay Son Road until you reach the intersection at the end of the road (at Royal Resort), turn left and walk along An Duong Vuong / the beach. By train Quy Nhon is served by Dieu Tri train station on the main line, around 10km west of Quy Nhon. All reunification express trains stop at Dieu Tri . To get to Quy Nhon from there, walk to the main road (around 5 minutes) and take a bus (5000 dong). Most buses will bring you to the supermarket at the city center. A taxi takes around 15 minutes. There are also trains departing from Ho Chi Minh City that arrive directly at the Quy Nhon train station. The line name is SQN. A "soft sleeper" overnight train is around $35. This train often has to wait for reunification express trains to pass by and therefore delays of 2 or 3 hours are not unusual, especially on the train from Quy Nhon to Ho Chi Minh City. There is also a train from Quy Nhon to Vinh at the North-central coast around every other day. Get around Motorbike Lots of xe om drivers around. You will probably get accosted at the bus station. Drivers demand outrageous prices (~60,000 dong) for small hops. The true price is 15,000-20,000 dong. Be careful of a woman on the east side of the city with very long hair riding a gray Suzuki who may offer you a ride; scams are to ensue. By taxi A number of white and green taxis can be found around the bus station area. More expensive than Xe Om, but useful if you are in a group. The size of the taxi may determine the price you pay. SUV taxis are bigger and charge more for the ride than smaller, compact car taxis. The white and green taxis are MaiLinh's a well-known and trusted company in Viet Nam but there are other taxis as well. As long as they use the meter you shouldn't get ripped-off. By bicycle Qui Nhon is fantastic for cycling. The main promenade runs directly next to the beach and has very little traffic. Bicycles are also great for exploring the nearby temples and beaches, which are too far to walk to. Some hotels will lend or rent bicycles to their guests. If you're staying long enough, there are a few second hand shops in town that some times have bicycles for sale including one at 84 Ha Huy Tap Duong (street). Expect to bargain hard as their prices are likely to include that special tourist 'tax'. On Foot The beach is great for a stroll, but other places are a bit far apart. See Quy Nhon Fisherman's Port * Thap Doi Towers, (Walk or bike about 1.5km west from the train station along the main road (Tran Hung Dao) until you see them to your right. Buses 4 and 6 stop just past the towers.). Some good examples of Cham architecture: a pair of towers situated right in the city and located in a small park. Easily reachable and in very good condition. The towers are open to the sky, visit around noon to see the sun shining inside. The larger site is 25km away, with the temples situated imposingly on a hill. 8,000 dong. edit * Beaches- Quy Nhon north beach has lots of large boats, but the south side is quieter and nice for swimming. You will probably also be the only foreign tourist around, and the local kids playing football give them a lively feel. It is nice to go along the beach on a bicycle. Note that the sand and water in Quy Nhon are quite polluted and this is far from a beach paradise. However the beaches in the villages around Quy Nhon are beautiful and clean - in particular Bai Xep beach some 10km south of the city. * Quy Nhon Museum- Quaint little museum with a couple of interesting exhibits. Okay if you need to pass some time when its raining. * Fisherman's Port, (On the north end of town). You can watch the fishing boats come in and the catch be unloaded and put on ice, etc. Nearby is the lot where they build the large wooden boats. The guys working there are most happy to show you around if you hand out some cigarettes. Be advised that this is a working port area, so it is rather filthy with fish and other effluvia. edit * Bai Xep Village and Beach, 10km South of Quy Nhon (grab the T11 bus from outside Barbara's or opposite Metro or KFC). Traditional fishing village. A world away from the city. Grab lunch at the village well with the locals. See the villagers going about their day, haggling at the market, fixing their nets or see how they mend the boats on the left hand beach. The right hand beach is far more beautiful and the perfect place to spend your day sunbathing. There are plenty of local places to grab a coffee or an ice cold beer or chill for the day on the beach. In particular check out Life's a Beach - right on the beach front run by two friendly English Guys and their Vietnamese team. edit * The Beach, 12km South of Quy Nhon (take the T11 bus from outside Barbara's or opposite Metro or KFC). A Backpackers paradise. Cheap accommodation, good traditional food and a lively bar with frequent events all situated on a private beach. edit Do The Beaches of Quy Nhon & Environs: People come to south central Viet Nam for its phenomenal beaches—golden sands, turquoise waters and tropical palms—and you won’t be disappointed by what you find in the area. But you do need to know where to go. Quy Nhon City beaches, like in any developed area, can be categorized by degree of cleanliness which varies based on rain (street dirt and sewage running off into the ocean) and air and water temperatures. In Quy Nhon itself, the best swimming beaches are by the Seagull Hotel and the Royal Resort at the southern end of town along the boulevard named An Dương Vương. These two are higher-priced hotels but cheaper accommodations can be had across the boulevard if you’re coming to town specifically for the beaches. By the way, the rusted jeep left over from the American-Vietnam War that you may have read about in older guide books and on line has been removed—so don’t expect to see it. The beaches further north in the city are also used by some residents for swimming but the water isn’t as clear and litter and feces are often spotted on the sand (and you don’t see dogs on the beach). The closer you get to fishing boats, the worse the water is for swimming. Dead rats are among the litter. The boardwalk provides for a long, leisurely walk—especially pleasant in the early mornings and evenings—with fishing boats of all colors and shapes bobbing on the water. It’s a very photogenic area if not great for swimming. Other notable beaches further afield: just a little further south of the Seagull Hotel is Qui Hoa beach reached through the old Lepers’ Hospital (you’ll need to taxi here). Of course, resorts have their own beaches as well such as the Life Resort a little further south from town. Building in 2013, the Ban Mai Beach Resort will offer one of the longest uninterrupted beaches with clear, turquoise waters approximately 35 kilometers north of Quy Nhon City. * Bai Xep Beach, (10kms south of Quy Nhon along Hwy 1D, about 400 m before the life resort - turn left at the signpost for Life's a Beach. Go into the village,.Turn right at the well & keep going until you reach the beach (about 300m altogether from the road). On the T9 bus route.). A nice long sandy beach, with good swimming, fishing boats & traditional round boats. Plenty of places to eat and get an ice cold drink. edit * The Beach Xuan Hai, ("12kms). One of the cleanest naturally beautiful beaches to be found in Vietnam, with white sand, clear water and the beach all to yourself it’s great for snorkeling or just to chill out without the crowds . Its maintained by the local hostel The Beach where you can grab snacks, drinks and hire anything you might need. There are also plenty of places to eat and get an ice cold drink on the hill behind." edit